Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
No trip to the Holy Land is complete, nor is the learning experience balanced, without
spending time in Palestine as well as in Israel. I found travel in Palestine comfortable
and safe in part because I hired a local guide to be with me each day I was there (pic-
tured here are Kamal, one of my Palestinian guides, and Abie, one of my Israeli guides).
For contact information for my Palestinian and Israeli guides and for a list of companies
doing “dual narrative” tours of the Holy Land, see the TV section of
ricksteves.com
.
Another thing is clear: Good travel is all about connecting with people and better un-
derstanding their perspective. I learned what Muslims think of Jesus while sitting on a
carpet with an imam; talked about raising kids while sipping coffee with Israelis who live
in a settlement overlooking the West Bank; and visited with a Palestinian refugee as he
clutched the key his parents took with them when they fled their village in 1948. I talked
with soldiers in guard towers, roasted coffee with a Bedouin, and gained insight into why
a proud and independent young woman would choose to wear a hijab. And I chatted with
a Hebron butcher—next to the swinging head of a camel he just slaughtered—for insight
into his world.
I remember when I first went on a political trip. It was back in the 1980s, to Nicaragua
and El Salvador. Seeing me off, my Dad (suspicious of communism) said, “Don't be
duped.” Now, after a few weeks in the Holy Land—the latest chapter in 30 years of
